'Do's' of Using Sensory Enhancements

Introduction

When you give a presentation, you are truly alive, as being on stage activates all of your senses. You see your audience waiting to receive your wisdom. You hear the noise they make as they shift in their places. You smell the scent of success that accompanies a job well done. You taste the nervousness bubbling in your gut. You feel your heart beating faster, your legs shaking.

Shouldn't your presentation make your audience come alive, too?

Sight

During your presentation, your audience will see you and any visual aids you may include.

You

The audience is going to have to look at you throughout the the entire presentation. You want to keep them engaged by:

• Dressing in a way that suits your personality (Could you imagine Steve Jobs giving a presentation wearing a suit and tie?)
• Wearing colors that suit the setting and appeal to the audience
• Showing confidence through your body movements (Even when Steve Jobs was speaking about iPhone 4 "defects," you knew that he was in control)
• Using gestures that go with your message

Text

Some useful suggestions for using text as a video presentation are:

• Text should be read from left to right, top to bottom
• Use consistent indentation and spacing
• End sentences or paragraphs on the same display screen

Text Quality

According to Alessi and Trollip (2001), the five important factors that should be used in determining the quality of text are:

• Leanness: Say the bare minimum
• Transitions: Should be used when moving from one topic to another to facilitate the flow of ideas
• Clarity: Use language that is comprehensible by your target audience as well as consistent words for defining terms
• Reading level: Ensure that the reading level is suitable to the learners intended to use it
• Mechanics: Always remember to correct grammar, spelling and punctuation

Color

Color should draw attention to the important terms or concepts in your presentation. Color should be consistently used throughout the design of the presentation. Learners are more attracted to colors and may find programs without color to be boring.

One of the disadvantages of using color is that color-blind individuals may miss out on some information in certain colors.

Useful suggestions for using color:

• Be consistent with use of colors
• Use color to indicate a difference or change
• Try to keep color use to a minimum
• Make sure that there is a good contrast between the background and the color of the text to allow the audience to read it easily

Video

Video is a great attention grabber, but may distract the audience from more important information.

Here are some useful suggestions for using video:

• Use video to emphasize important information
• Pay careful attention to where video is placed in the presentation
• Make sure the length of the video is appropriate
• Ensure that you have control over the video as far as pausing, ending and repeating

Sound

Your voice can serve as a sensory enhancement. To make it effective:

• Add variety to your tone
• Speak loudly and clearly
• Use proper enunciation and pronunciation

If you use sound other than your own voice:

• Use sound as an attention grabber if it makes sense to do so
• Use high quality sound

Graphics and Animation

Graphics and animation should enhance the presentation.

Useful suggestions for using graphics and animation:

• Use graphics that are consistent throughout presentation
• Sometimes less is better
• Decide if a realistic picture is necessary or not
• Some graphics may need to be broken into smaller pictures
• When using text and graphics, present both simultaneously

An effective presentation or speech will touch your audience; an alive audience is likely to take action.